Prince Precision 730 Longbody

Prince Precision 730 Longbody

PP730 Detail

I tend to prefer Wilson racquets rather than Prince; I can't say why for sure, maybe they tend to be on the stiffer side. However I have hit with a couple of Princes on a Demo Day that I quite liked, the Diablo, and the NXG; both good control racquets.

This Precision 730 is similar, and once I have replaced the tired strings I intend to use it a bit more and see if it's a real threat to my Wilsons and the PK Destiny. I'm thinking a good nylon rather than poly, to keep it lively, because it has plenty of feel and control.  

It's longer than standard (is it 28" or 28.5"?) but I've never found the extra length handy in any stick.

It certainly is a nice looking stick in its emerald green metallic pj.

Wilson Ultra (Tapered Beam) Firebird

Wilson Ultra Firebird

Yet another Wilson racquet with the signature PWS bumps at 3 and 9 oclock - This is the first I've owned with the tapered beam, and although the strings are saggy and need replacing, its looking good - plenty of feel and enough power not to be hard work like I feel the PSC 6.1 is. I believe it is the same mould as the Wilson Ultra FPK 95, and is a European-only release.

As an aside, I have a Staff from the High Beam series, and it is a bit too powerful to be reliable, like the Graphite Aggressor I had from the same mould.

 The tapered beam feels quite different, not too stiff - I'll put some new strings in it, and if I gain a bit more control without losing too much power, this might be a keeper


<edit>   Ok, well putting some RPM Blast poly in this did it no favours;  it's now a rather sullen underpowered beast, and maybe playing with more flexy-throated racquets like the PK Destiny recently has coloured my impressions.  In the meantime it goes back to the cupboard until I can spare it some livelier nylon.

Wilson Ncode Ntour

Wilson Ncode Ntour

Ok, some think that racquets like this  are too modern to have earned their stripes as "classic", but there are a few like the Ntour that are already on their way to classic status - Babolat Pure Drive, for example (which is really a remould of my beloved PK Destiny, but I digress)

As you may already know this Wilson family started with the Hammer 5.2, dubbed "the least hammer-ish Hammer" by TWH testers - and its true, they are a lot closer to even balance than the rest of the line.

Successors were the Htour/Ktour/BLX tour, all to the same successful recipe.

Davenport and Henin were early adopters of these, and I can see why.

Mine's been given a bit of weight in the handle, as I felt the the static weight (in the low 10 oz region) was a bit light - the weight also moved it into slightly head-light mode, and that plus the extra heft made it better for service returns, as well.

Its still quite a stiff racquet, but not overly so, particularly for a Wilson - mid sixties in stiffness rating, perhaps? Anyway even as stock, its a real nice solid stick off the ground with plenty of feel. That extra weight in the handle helped make it a bit more manoeuvrable, too - its a competent volleyer as stock, but there's no doubt the more head-light a stick is, the easier it is to flick around. It gives me more spin than my PS 5.0, too, and seems to find a wider service angle than the PS.

 It's a racquet I use often, especially in singles.

Donnay WST Universe

Donnay WST Universe Supermid

I can't even remember how I came by the Donnay, must have been as part of another purchase. It's a clunky looking stick with its thick frame, and the fluoro colours are a 90's Donnay trademark. But it turned out to be a pleasant surprise, doing the control/power balance just fine, thanks. Donnay made their reputation from their wooden racquets, but their composite frames have a lot of fans too.

Be careful though - I believe Donnay got into financial strife, closed down, and the label has been revived - some quite cheap and nasty Donnays around now, as with most major brands. Some of them LOOK like players sticks, and I'd be interested to hear if they are what they appear.

Wilson Prostaff Classic 6.1

Wilson Prostaff Classic 6.1

Stefan Edberg's choice of racquet,  in the famous Prostaff line - I had big expectations of this racquet.

It is very head-light, and also quite flexy - some of the stiffness figures I've seen don't look right, this would rate in the low sixties.

I have to confess to giving up on this stick;  it gave me no power on the serve, even with a little weight at 3 and 9, which did wonders on my very similarly-weighted (and brilliant but fragile) Prostaff ROK. It also seems to get stiffer if you swing it faster - maybe thats the kevlar.

Nice off the ground, but my Ntour does that too, and everything else a lot better.  maybe the should have a label "Grasscourt Use Only".

Wilson Avenger

Wilson Avenger

The classic Prostaff profile of this caught my eye one day - and it's quite a nice racquet. Plenty of flex (60% graphite, 40% fibreglass) for control but goes thru the ball with a solid "thwap" on the groundies, terrific plough-through.

I would like a little more feel, its a very muted racquet, but with the 95sq in head its not a bad volleyer.  I like it.

Yonex Glaflex

Yonex Glaflex

I used to love my black Yonex Carbonex 8 back in my beginner days, so when I saw this from the same era, I couldn't resist it. The Glaflex was normally also black, so I was a tad surprised when I found this red version. Its actually fibreglass over aluminium, and the result weighs in at over 14oz. It's head heavy and swings like a blacksmith's hammer.

On the Classic Racquet's forum they talked about a "muted thoonk" sound this thing makes - In my case,that was the sound of the ball hitting the back fence at the far end (and leaving a dent). The swing was so clubby I could hardly hit the ball in the first place, but when i did .... Oh well, nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

Yonex OPS-102

Yonex OPS-102

Rossignol F200

Rossignol F200

Rossignol F200 detail

the Rossi is... interesting. They do not exaggerate when talking about it's legendary flexiness. Ideal for powerful baseliners,  hard work for mortals like me. It's like trying to beat your opponent to death with a wet noodle.

Pro Kennex Silver Ace

Pro Kennex Silver Ace

My one is the white version, but the black version is more common - do not ask me where the silver bit comes from.

these racquets are very fondly regarded by most; I prefer my PK Destiny. The Silver Ace is a very flexible and low-powered racquet, with a sweet spot that seems even smaller than the 90sqin head would suggest. Good plough-through on serves and baseline  stuff - so it should have, mine is just over 13oz strung, quite heavy

Pro Kennex Graphite Destiny

What a nice racquet - does everything well. I understand Kennex used to make most of the world's racquets, and probably still do - and their experience shows, they have made a lot of cheap-and-nasty stuff, but their top racquets are usually pretty damn good.

I understand that the Graphite Destiny is the stiffest in the Destiny range, the next being a gorgeous cherry-red thing called the Ceramic Destiny. A friend has the blue-green Composite Destiny, which is also a lovely looking thing, although not quite to my taste, being lot flexier than mine. There is also the off-white Pearl Destiny, and I don't know where that sits in the range! These all have a narrow (17.3mm) beam at the throat, so they're not as stiff as modern racquets, with good feel off the ground.

Its a typical player's stick, around the 12oz mark, quite head-light, and feels quite modern;  topspinners may find the slightly wide aero hoop a bit off-putting, though.

Wilson Prostaff 5.0

Wilson Prostaff 5.0 MP

This racquet is a bit of a beast - mine is 12.85oz strung,  so its heavy, and very stiff ( more so than its 21.5mm beam would imply ) -  hard on the arm!

Still, it is very head-light, and a serve-and-volley weapon.  If I'm in a mood to take no prisoners, (and I think my shoulder can stand the strain!) this is the racquet I turn to.

It has quite a dense pattern (16x20) so I like to use a textured string like Topspin to stop the ball sliding off the strings so much, but its very consistent. Just point it, and if you have the muscle, it'll go there.

Mine was very battered when I bought it, but it's as tough as hell. I quite like the appearance -all business.
 
( update Nov 2012 )

I've just acquired another PS5. This one is strung with Bab Pro Hurricane Tour; My previous one was strung with Prince Topspin 60-62lb, probably a bit less now and is a bit of a board, but good control.

The new one has more feel but seems to trampoline in the centre a bit (e.g. low defensive volleys are hard to control) - so obviously it is overly simplistic to assume polys have less power than nylon. What to do?  I have a whole bunch of Trevira Polystar which has more snap than the Pro Supex  I have in my Yonex RDX500, and find a bit soft. So maybe I'll try a hybrid with the Polystar.  I hate that Pro Supex, I prefer a soft frame to soft strings.

update (2013)

ok, it sorta works; I tried Polystar crosses at 54, Extreme mains at 58 - the pro shop said the poly would cut the nylon, and they are right, and when they go, I'll try Polystar at 60 mains 56 crosses.  I now prefer this to my other all-nylon one, but they are both still great sticks as long as you don't string them too loose, when they get away on you a bit.

My name is bruce , and I'm a racquetaholic.

Ok, well I can't even remember how I got this habit of accumulating racquets, but I have 20+ now, and it's getting out of control. I know some people have hundreds, so it's nice to know I'm not alone. I thought I might as well start a blog about them, because I myself am always pleased to read other's opinions about a racquet's characteristics.

For a quick synopsis, see my Racquet Rankings List